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Channel: Internet of things | E-media, the Econocom blog

Zzz thanks to IoT

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Sleep is crucial for health and wellbeing. But it’s difficult to get a good, long night’s sleep. As an alternative to sleeping pills, more and more sleep-challenged people are resorting to connected devices, and digital technology providers are vying to come up with the most innovative solutions.

Sleep deprivation has become a public health issue which has taken its toll on patients, the healthcare system and employers alike. Digital technologies have taken up the challenge, with mobile apps and IoT to monitor our sleep, analyse and even improve its quality, or detect any issues.

Sleep Tech: the new sleep market

At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show there were plenty of tech solutions for insomniacs on show, with, for the second year running a dedicated space for Sleep Tech, a market that has been booming for the past four years and is set to be worth 80 billion dollars by 2020. Apple, for example, bought out Beddit, a startup specialising in sensors last spring.

Headsets, glasses, earpieces with sensors that monitor your brain activity, rings that measure your vitals, an alarm clock that’s in sync with your sleep phases, a smart mattress to rock you to sleep, a stress-boosting pillow: the range of sleep gadgets is mind-boggling. In his comprehensive report on CES 2018, Olivier Ezratty dedicated three whole pages to examples of such technology. And here are some others.

APNEAband: detecting sleep apnea

Up until now, methods for detecting sleep apnea were effective but invasive and uncomfortable for patients. With wristband APNEAband, Leti, a research institute of CEA Tech, has come up with an easier solution, which it presented at CES 2018. The sensors monitor the patient’s heart rate, oxygen saturation levels in the bloods, and stress levels. These parameters are then analysed so that any respiratory irregularities which might be the cause of sleep problems can be detected. This device is aimed mainly at paramedics.

NokiaSleep: a sleep tracker under your mattress

By taking over Withings in 2016, Nokia began to focus on connected health. At CES in Las Vegas, it revealed its first sleep tracker, along with the Nokia Health Mate application. This tracker, which has yet to go on sale, is like a yoga mat stuffed with sensors that analyse sleep cycles, heart rate and snoring. This data is then combined to produce a “sleep score.” The device is also home automation-enabled and can thus be set to control the lights and heating. Nokia even offers a coaching programme with sleep specialists.

Hypnos: a French connected sleep mask

Designed by DreaminzZz, this mask won the Doctors 2.0 & You startups competition before being showcased at CES 2018. Hypnos looks like an ordinary sleep mask only it stimulates you visually or with vibrations. It’s used with Hypnostore, a mobile library of hypnosis session so the ‘patient’ can try out different sensory experiences. The device promises better sleep, less stress and reduced pain thank to hypnosis. The price for the consumer version is €199; a version for healthcare professionals is also available via subscription.

Sleepphones to lull you to sleep

Made by American firm AcousticSheep, Sleepphones are wireless Bluetooth ultra-thin flat speakers enclosed in a soft headband that play the music of your choice to lull you to sleep. They also shut out background noise (including your partner’s snoring). Relaxation and a perfect night’s sleep, all for just $99.95.

Sources :  Sleepjunkies, Sleeptrackers.io, Leti CEA Tech, Nokia  AcousticSheep, Dreaminzzz


Voice-first: has the screen become obsolete?

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Voice-First devices, or digital voice assistants (DVA), mark a significant turning point in digital technologies. They’re revolutionising design principles, business models and e-commerce. We had a look at the DVA boom and the latest trends in voice commands.

Amazon Echo and Apple are launching their own voice assistants to rival Google’s Home range, which came out in the States in 2016 and has been available in Europe since last summer.

Microsoft, meanwhile, is bringing out its own smart speaker, called Invoke, combining the capabilities of its Cortana assistant with the expertise of Harmon Kardon, Samsung’s speaker division. The DVA is a potentially huge market: according to a report by Accenture, by 2018, over one third of the online population in the USA, Brazil, India, China and Mexico will own a digital voice assistant.

The battle of the smart speakers

Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo is thus hoping to take on Google Home, which sold extremely well last Christmas: almost 7 million were sold worldwide. Amazon, meanwhile, according to CEO Jeff Bezos, has already sold tens of millions of devices since it was launched.

Apple’s HomePod, which was launched in the US, Australia and the UK in early February this year, and is naturally powered by Siri, is now joining the smart speaker race. In the US, Amazon is currently the market leader.

To find out      more about these devices, visit the manufacturers’ websites: Google HomeApple HomePod Microsoft Invoke.

How voice assistants will change our lives                              

Alexa, buy some more toothpaste. OK, Google, what’s the weather today? Hey Siri, turn the lights down.”  Such man-to-machine “conversations” will soon be common around households: rapid adoption of voice assistants is being hailed as the next major trend in consumer digital uses.

But how will we use them? How will interfaces and product design change? How will content be sold? What sort of marketing and advertising strategies will be implemented?  Voice assistance raises a host of questions.

So what do smart speakers do?

Already 39 million people own Amazon or Google smart speakers in the US.

These early adopters claim the devices have replaced their radio and screens (smartphone, tablet, TV and PC), according to the Smart Audio Report by NPR/Edison.

Controlling smart home devices and finding out traffic or weather information are among the most common uses for smart speakers, although types of use vary from one time of the day to another (see below).

Users also use smart speakers as an additional means of purchasing. 22% of respondents used them to order a new product not previously purchased, while 31% added an item to their cart for later.

Respondents also said they would like to see the smart speaker technology used in cars, on their phone, or on their television – closely followed by in the workplace. So will DVAs be the next big technology in the workplace? Well, wait and see – or rather, listen!

Sources : Google Home, Apple HomePod, Microsoft Invoke, Accenture, Business Insider UK, Voicebot.ai, National Public Media

 

Drive-to-Store: brick-and-mortar stores are still thriving

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The collection of location data, combined with widespread adoption of smartphones has given rise to a new type of marketing – drive-to-store. The idea is to lure targeted customers into stores, whatever their location and means of transport. And this is a major digital strategy, considering that more than 90% of purchases are still made in brick-and-mortar stores, according to a survey by the US Census Bureau.

Despite the rise of e-commerce, which currently accounts for 9.1% of all purchases, customers still prefer brick-and-mortar stores. This explains why digital commerce giants are setting up chains of shops to reinforce their brands. With the explosion of location analytics and the increase in drive-to-store and web-to-store strategies, the line between digital and physical is becoming increasingly blurred.

Retailers are now investing in mobile technologies to boost in-store sales

Collecting location data and measuring in-store traffic allows them to implement targeted actions and analyse them in real-time. “The real asset of drive-to-store is that you can measure the impact of an advertising campaign on in-store traffic and sales. Up until 2017, the technologies available enabled you to analyse actions after a campaign was launched. But 2018 will see the advent of real-time measuring tools,” explained Nicolas Rieul, VP Strategy EMEA for S4M to LSA magazine. Retailers will thus be able to assess the Return on Investment of digital marketing campaigns immediately, even more so with the rise in contactless mobile payment systems.

Drive-to-store increases brand engagement

Yet despite the digital explosion, in 2030, 50% of consumers will continue to buy in-store. According to a 2016 report conducted by Kantar TNS for Comarch, drive-to-store will continue to draw customers into physical stores. 50% of respondents said they appreciated getting personalised offers on their mobile, 50% said they would go back to a store as a result of a positive purchasing experience and 20% thought that individual offers and personalised rewards were the keys to customer loyalty.

Millennials and digital marketing

Whilst 52% of French consumers say they would use on-line reduction vouchers, unsurprisingly it’s the younger generations who are more susceptible to digital marketing and drive-to-store strategies. Millennials (21-34-year-olds) and Z generation (15-20-year-olds) are three times more likely to use digital solutions to buy food than over 50’s and 1.5 times more likely than 35-49-year-olds. Meanwhile, 43% of respondents of all age groups said that digital made for an easier shopping experience for everyday products. (Survey by Nielsen Catalina July 2016).

Sources : LSA

How the Internet of Things is revolutionising industry

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Traditional industry is dead! Long live industry 4.0, which is 100% connected, thanks to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Over the next three years, manufacturing companies worldwide will spend over €900 billion on deploying IIoT projects. Why so much investment? And what exactly is IIoT? How will it affect the industrial ecosystem? What are the benefits? With the 8th edition of Industry in full swing in France, we found out more about IIoT.

IoT could be compared to an iceberg: there’s the tip – consumer IoT, smart watches, Quantified Self wristbands, home automation systems, etc.

But we’ve only just begun to explore the underside of the digital iceberg! Industry can now benefit from networks of connected devices for the whole of the chain: sourcing, manufacturing, monitoring, diagnostics and maintenance, logistics and customer service, in the manufacturing, building and energy sectors, where Internet of Things is booming.

IIoT: connected industry from A to Z

The 4th industrial revolution, also known as industry 4.0 or the industry of the future, is the revolution that is “transforming the industrial paradigm through digital,” as defined by the FIM (French Federation of Mechanical Industries), which incorporates smart systems into manufacturing processes.

And IIoT is taking this digital revolution to unprecedented heights. As the FIM puts it, “It affects every link in the value chain: machines, products at the manufacturing stage, finished products or ones in use, employees, suppliers, customers, infrastructures, etc.

 European manufacturing: IoT in high demand

The potential advantages of industry 4.0 explain the budgets allocated to Industrial Internet of Things deployments. And it’s a booming market: IoT spending is set to grow at a CAGR of 14.4% between 2017 and 2021. Investment should rise from $674 billion in 2017 to $1,100 billion (around €897 billion) in 2020, 55% of which will be for software and services, i.e. $605 billion (around €494 billion).

Over the next few years, manufacturing is the industry that will spend the most on IoT, in particular on solutions that support manufacturing operations and production asset management, according to IDC.

On a European scale, IIoT is rising at an even faster rate, according to PAC:

  • 72% of manufacturing companies intend to increase their IoT spending by between 10% and 30% over the next three years.
  • Reasons for adopting these technologies vary from country to country: for the UK it’s mainly for designing and prototyping solutions; in France it’s automating processes and improving quality; in Italy, the priority is more on cost reduction and optimising logistics, whilst Scandinavian countries are aiming primarily at cutting costs.

Right from the start of this 4th revolution, technology players have been devising solutions to help industrial companies with their transformation: for example,  Cisco is offering dedicated monitoring equipment and tools, Schneider Electric has come up with new business solutions, and Dalkia, a subsidiary of EDF group, is offering energy management solutions (resources, performance optimisation, etc.).

Real-time data analytics: what fuels the factory 4.0

The aim of IIoT is to create in an industrial ecosystem networks of connected physical objects, collect the data produced and leverage it for operational and decision-making purposes.

IIoT is at the heart of the 4th industrial revolution and covers:

  • Communicating industrial equipment, products and components.
  • Embedded systems: sensors, RFID and NFC tags.
  • Communication networks between objects and with company or partners IT systems (Machine to Machine or M2M, wireless networks such as WLAN, Bluetooth or low-speed dedicated IoT networks, such as Sigfox or LoRa, 4G LTE/future 5G, Wi-Fi)
  • Solutions for gathering, storing and analysing data, applications
  • Cloud platforms or edge computing
  • Connected devices: smartphones, tablets, hybrid PCs, augmented and virtual reality headsets, etc. and mobile apps for professionals in the field.

In smart factories, IIoT has a number of uses:

  • Remote monitoring of production units and manufacturing, supply chain, inventory, logistics.
  • Improving the quality and traceability of products right across the chain.
  • Addressing production needs in real time.
  • Management, monitoring, predictive maintenance and incident detection on equipment and products.
  • Controlling production energy spends.
  • Fast decision-making thanks to real-time dashboards.
  • Opportunities for creating added value connected products and services.

Innovation, operational efficiency, improved decision-making, productivity gains, improved security, reducing risks and costs: the benefits of IoT and the transformation of Big Data into Smart Data for industry are endless, and as such can make a difference where organisations’ competitiveness is concerned: as FIM observes, “Information from IIoT creates knowledge: knowledge of customers, the environment, company processes, etc. And this knowledge is a valuable asset for the company.”

IIoT hasn’t yet been introduced across all the industrial processes, but examples of IoT applied to certain fields, such as predictive maintenance, supply chain and smart buildings illustrate the potential impact of these new technologies for optimising performance. Find out more at SIdO, the IoT Showroom, which Econocom will be attending in Lyon on 4th & 5th April (Stand A07/B08) and in our upcoming emedia posts.

Sources : FIM, IDC, SupInfo, PAC

Connected maintenance: IoT is on the right track

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The old adage “Prevention is better than cure” is now being applied to the rail industry thanks to IoT. Installing sensors on railway tracks and on trains allows railway companies to carry out predictive maintenance: we looked at how the French National railways have done just this.

The railways enter the age of smart and predictive maintenance.

SNCF, the French national railways, have invested over €500 million on its digital transformation, implementing systems for remote monitoring and better fault prevention. The group has been working with Toulouse-based start-up Intesens, winner of the 2015 SNCF challenge digital trophy in the “connected infrastructures” category, for this project. In 2016, SNCF asked them to deploy pilot applications to monitor its infrastructures, embedded equipment and equipment at its railway stations.

The group has also implemented Intesens’ technology to monitor the temperature of railway tracks.

From 15 May to 15 September, the temperature of the train tracks is being closely monitored in order to prevent tracks expanding and buckling. Thus, temperature readings are no longer done manually but automatically, thanks to geo-located temperature sensors installed on the edge of railway tracks. The readings are then automatically published on a secure web server and agents are notified when temperature thresholds are exceeded. The first deployment phase involved installing 500 sensors, i.e. around 1 every 60 km. “Eventually, we plan to install one every 5 to 10 km, which will be thousands, to ensure monitoring of all 30,000 km of the French railway network,” explains Xavier Lafontan, CEO and founder of Intesens, to l’Usine Digitale.

Intesens sensors, which track distances covered in real time

SNCF has also started using connected mechanical stress sensors on overhead contact systems to track them remotely and in real time via a web platform. As soon as an anomaly is detected, an alert is triggered and sent to the maintenance operator via a low-speed network designed specially for IoT. The company that provides connected maintenance solutions has thus designed a solution using mechanical stress sensors installed on the railway network. The system sends the readings to the supervisor in real time, so they can take action as quickly as possible. Data from the sensors is recorded so the supervisor can track stress levels in the long term and remotely.

Rails can be measured and analysed by SNCF to ensure better track maintenance

 SNCF have also installed connected splice bars on the rail tracks in order to measure the impact on the tracks when trains pass and thus calculate the weight of the train. These splice bars can thus give an idea of the train tonnage, a crucial piece of information where rail track maintenance is concerned. “To organise optimal railway track maintenance, we need to know the exact tonnage that runs on it. But with the industry opening up to the competition, it’s impossible to get this information,” said Marc Jourdain, Head of Signalling for the SNCF network and IoT Project Manager.

Intesens attending SIdO 2018 with Econocom (Lyon, 4th & 5th April 2018)

Intesens will be on the Econocomstand at the 4th edition of SIdO, the French IoT expo, along with experts from Digital Security, an Econocom subsidiary, and partners ffly4u and GreenMe. Econocom will be taking part in the conference on “IoT: the pillar of your digital transformation: an operational challenge for your company” on 4th April whilst Digital Security will be giving a keynote that same day on “Industry 4.0: Interoperability and security of industrial systems: making the right choice.”

Source: L’Usine Digitale

IIoT: how cable drums are becoming smart

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With industry 4.0, the Industrial Internet of Things is revolutionising the logistics process, and Nexans is something of a trailblazer in this field. The group, one of the world’s leading cable manufacturers, has installed connected trackers made by ffly4U on its cable drums, with deployment and financing provided by Econocom. This successful project resulted in Nexans making 20% savings on managing its equipment, and new services such as real-time tracking.

These wooden or steel cable drums, or “the unknown heroes of the cable industry,” as Nexans calls them, nevertheless generate substantial logistics costs. They are used for transporting cables from the factory to the industrial site where they are stored before and after use. Once they’re empty, the cable drums are collected and sent back to the factory. This service is charged to the end-client as a rental per unit.

For major energy network operators, this can add up to several million euros a year, and Nexans spends almost €1 million a year on the logistics for retrieving cable drums.

Real-time management and traceability with ffly4u technology

Optimising this process by being able to locate the equipment at any time to avoid loss or theft could therefore lead to substantial cost savings. And this is precisely what Nexans Group set out to do with Econocom and their partner ffly4u, a startup founded in 2015.

ffly4u is offering Nexans its industrial mobile tracking expertise by installing GPS sensors in a little box on each wooden cable drum so they can locate them in real time whenever they’re outside the factory.

Another advantage of this connected tracker is the ability to record the number of cables on each drum, so Nexans can work out how much extra cable length is left over and reallocate it, and collect all empty cable drums to send them back to Nexans’ factories. The ffly4u transmitter thus ensures 24/7 monitoring thanks to an alert that is triggered when a cable drum is moved outside the authorised perimeter or at night, (for example, during an attempted theft).

With a battery life of at least five years, the sensors are connected via a low-speed network, such as Sigfox or LoRa, and send data to a platform developed specifically for managing the cable drums, which Nexans and its clients can access.

Thousands of Nexans connected cable drums already rolled out across Europe

Initially launched for around one hundred cable drums, the project is now being deployed on a larger pan-European scale for a fleet of several thousand cable drums used for implementing energy networks, for example, with very conclusive results:

  • Cost savings due to faster relocation of cable drums
  • More efficient management for foremen
  • Traceability to ensure that the right cable is being used at the right location
  • Leftover cables re-used for other projects
  • Potential reduction in the number of thefts.

 

Find out more about industrial IoT with Econocom

How technology can make champions

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On 16 September in Berlin, Eliud Kipchoge beat the world marathon record. By running the legendary 42.195 km in just 2 hours, 1 minute and 39 seconds, the champion of the Rio Olympics smashed the existing record by an incredible 1’18’’. This is not only an exceptional sporting feat, but also a technological one. For Kipchoge is a formidable champion, arguably the greatest marathon runner of all time, and to beat this record, he used the very best digital has to offer elite athletes.

Every day, millions of joggers wear wristbands with sensors that measure their heart rate. Often connected to mobile apps, these fitness trackers help them manage their efforts, personalise their exercises and measure progress. But consumer devices such as these are positively Stone Age compared to some of the state-of-the-art solutions champions are now using to boost their performance. The miniature sensors used by top-level athletes on their devices can collect millions of data per second on position, acceleration, strength, breathing patterns, etc.

Data scientists on the track

But collecting this information is just the beginning. To contextualise, interpret and get the most out of raw data, the athlete needs the services of a data scientist. Data scientists are working increasingly with athletes and coaches, helping them to analyse each training session, identify key performance factors and areas of improvement, prevent injury, and compare their performance with that of their opponents.  For the most technical disciplines, video and virtual reality are also used to analyse and reproduce each movement until perfection is achieved.

For years now Eliud Kipchoge has had a team of specialists to help optimise his performance by studying the countless parameters gathered during each race and training session. By cross-referencing biomechanical and physiological data, he has thus succeeded in perfecting his gait, optimising his energy expenditure, and even programming to the second when he needs to fuel up during a race. The same data also allowed him to have custom, 3D-printed trainers made, designed specially for his feet and gait. And all these little improvements combined allowed him to slash a world record.

Golf: a paradise for connected technologies

Athletes in every discipline now use digital technologies to train with scientific rigour and precision. With the Ryder Cup currently taking place in France for the first time ever, at the Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, golf is a prime example. During training, professional golfers can use a host of equipment embedded with sensors, such as smart watches, connected clubs and balls. Added to the fact that thousands of golf courses and games are meticulously digitally monitored, this produces a wealth of data which could hold the secret to their next victory. Exploiting this data via big data algorithms and artificial intelligence allows players to hone their technique, analyse their game more precisely and make sure they’re in peak physical condition. Thanks to virtual reality, they can even simulate potential situations they might find themselves in during a round. However, such technologies, in particular rangefinders which are used to calculate distances and slopes, are banned during competitions. Because in the end, the real sporting heroes are the ones that rely on their physical and mental prowess alone.

Econocom, official supplier of the Ryder Cup

Econocom is supporting the Ryder Cup, the world’s most prestigious golfing event, which, for the first time ever, is taking place in France this year. In addition to supplying the equipment critical to the Ryder Cup organisation, Econocom is also Presenting Sponsor of the live on-course Radio Service during this event which takes place at the Golf National in ‎Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines until 30 September 2018.

O post How technology can make champions apareceu primeiro em E-media, the Econocom blog.

CES 2019: which products and innovations will revolutionise uses this year?


IoT: the key to smart buildings

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IoT can be used to monitor and regulate people and their working environment through sensors that can measure various parameters. Analysing these measurements enables companies to pinpoint any invisible dysfunctions that could affect employees’ productivity and well-being – as GreenMe, a startup specialising in IoT, shows.

Real-time assessment of employees’ working conditions is now easy, thanks to IoT

French startup GreenMe – an Econocom partner – has devised a device with a built-in sensor that constantly measures parameters such as temperature, moisture, lighting quality, noise and air change rates in offices. At this year’s CES in Las Vegas, GreenMe presented its “cube,” which can be placed anywhere in the office and has built-in sensors that can map “comfort” and “discomfort” zones.

The cube can also measure each user’s impressions

For GreenMe believe that the people who occupy a building are just as important as the building itself – which is why the cube isn’t just an object you set up in a corner: it’s meant to gather feedback from the user. Installed on each desk, the user can turn the cube one way if they feel good, and the opposite way if they’re not feeling so good, so the cube can analyse each employee’s comfort and needs. The cube can measure up to ten health and wellbeing parameters.

The concept, which was devised in 2012 by Alexandre Dugarry, GreenMe’s founder, went into production in 2017 in the South-West of France. Over a thousand cubes have since been installed in the offices of major companies in France such as EDF, Dalkia, Vinci Facilities, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Bouygues Immobilier, MAIF, Owens Corning and l’Occitane. One client, a Lyon-based company, relocated and installed GreenMe cubes on its new premises after a number of its staff came down with sinusitis. After three months, the cubes revealed that very low humidity levels in the building was the cause of a series of ailments such as sinusitis, dry eyes and allergic reactions.

A direct correlation between quality of the workspace and productivity

According to a report by Loftness et al and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, better ventilation management could reduce absenteeism by 55%, whilst a more suitable temperature could increase creativity by 19% and better air pollution filtering could boost productivity by 3%. Combined with the human element – i.e. the users’ feedback – these measurements can help organisations control the working environment more effectively and correct any problems.

And yet the impact goes further than just optimising the material or environmental conditions of the workspace. Improving quality of life in the workplace improves employee satisfaction by assuring staff that their employer is concerned with their well-beinga major preoccupation for staff, according to a 2017 survey carried out by the Observatoire de l’Immobilier Durable. And these are precisely the kinds of concerns and needs GreenMe has set out to assess.

GreenMe with Econocom at SIdO 2018 (Lyon, 4th & 5th April 2018)

GreenMe will be on the Econocom stand at the 4th edition of SIdO, the French IoT expo, along with experts from digital.security, an Econocom subsidiary, and partners ffly4u and Intesens. Econocom will be taking part in the conference on “IoT: the pillar of your digital transformation: an operational challenge for your companyon 4th April whilst digital.security will be giving a keynote that same day on Industry 4.0: Interoperability and security of industrial systems: making the right choice” and "Security by design: How to think cybersecurity from the start of your IoT project"

O post IoT: the key to smart buildings apareceu primeiro em E-media, the Econocom blog.

5G: Are you up to speed?

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5G, webinar, event

Billions of connected devices. Billions of people.
Welcome to the future, powered by 5G.

5G is going to play a significant part in mobility and digital transformation. Businesses expect it to provide radical new experiences and services.

But will 5G live up to its promise? What’s the controversy around it? How to get 5G ready?

Frances Weston, Managing Director at Econocom UK, will reveal everything you need to know about 5G during a webinar organised by the French Chamber of Great Britain on June 16th 2020 at 10:30am UK time.

Click here to register.





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